Whisper Network

Sloane returns to a mostly dark house. Abigail is upstairs watching TV. Sloane imagines all of the awful things that teenagers can do without supervision, but Abigail isn’t home alone—Derek, who is sitting in the dark living room, startles Sloane. The school superintendent called him to urge them to withdraw their lawsuit, which puts Derek’s teaching job in jeopardy. Sloane admits that she saw more texts to Abigail that she did not show him and claims that she did it to keep him safe. Derek hates that Sloane values her job over his because she makes more money. When she apologizes, he says, “I hope that Ardie and Grace know what they’ve gotten into with you” (374). This confirms her worst fear: that she is a bad leader for the cause. She fears that she will be left with nothing.

On April 28, Rosalita pulls up to a large house that has its curtains drawn. This is the sort of neighborhood in which the police would get called on her decrepit car. She wonders about the character of the woman in the house, and about a lifestyle Rosalita could never have nor wants. Rosalita knocks, rings the doorbell, and, as she waits, imagines how she would be seen through the camera. Two women come to the door. Rosalita passes them an envelope and informs them that she needs to speak with them. They wordlessly shut the door on her.

As Sloane walks to the office on May 1, a female reporter stops her and asks how Sloane would respond to the idea that she and her co-plaintiffs caused Ames’s death. Sloane responds that she did not push anyone off a building—and this accusation is diverting attention away from the fact that Truviv had no systems in place for women to be heard without fearing consequence.

Sloane learns from Dallas Morning News reporter Cliff that her mentor Elizabeth Moretti created the BAD Men List. Cliff reveals that his source in the police department got a tip that someone saw something—Ames’s death is now looking like a murder.

Sloane trains with Oksana as images of Ames dying flash through her mind. She worries that this new information will somehow point to her. Oksana informs Sloane that Ames was coded red on the trainers’ list, meaning that no one felt safe working with him. Still, Sloane fears she filed the lawsuit in bad faith. She emails Cliff that Elizabeth Moretti values knowledge as power, arguing that the BAD Men List was a source of knowledge.

The chapter ends with Grace’s detective interview from April 28. Ames seemed perturbed on the day of his death. The detectives ask if there was an event that upset Ames and Grace answers yes.

Truviv wants to meet with the suing women. Grace argues against listening to them, but Helen takes the meeting—perhaps Truviv wants to drop their lawsuit.

At the meeting, Cosette tells the women that Truviv has a witness stating under oath that she was not sexually harassed and that the three friends hate Ames because of his previous relationship with Sloane. Cosette reminds Grace that her letter of support showed Ames to be a good boss, implying that the women filed the lawsuit to sabotage Ames’s CEO chances and blaming them for his death. Truviv wants the women to pay five million in damages and resign; in exchange, the company will give the women letters of recommendation and sign NDAs. Ardie tells Cosette that they do not have this kind of money, though Grace thinks to herself that she could come up with it. Cosette tells them that they can work out a payment plan. Truviv plans on moving forward with the case the following day.

Grace is filled with love for her friends. Helen reminds them that losing a wrongful death suit would cost much more than five million dollars. Grace had hoped that the detectives would find Katherine at fault for Ames’s death; Helen tells them that Katherine is getting a promotion. Helen cannot continue to work for the women on contingency. They are sure they will lose.